Shoe management device

ABSTRACT

A shoe management device has a housing forming an exterior appearance, an inner space provided inside of a housing body of the housing, and a cover to open or close the housing body. A shoe may be provided inside of the inner space, and dust and foreign matter on the shoe may be removed by agitators and an air flow provided by an air generator. In addition, moisture and germs inside the shoe are removed by hot air, an ultraviolet ray, and plasma ions provided by a care device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2020-0006857, filed in Korea on Jan. 17, 2020, and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/993,205, filed in the United States on Mar. 23, 2019,the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a shoe management device.

2. Background

Shoes are necessary items in modern life, and most modern people,especially city dwellers, wear shoes all day. In many cases, a singlepair of shoes is often used continuously for many days.

There are various types of shoes, but people living in urban areasusually wear shoes that cover an entirety of each foot. After being wornall day, body fluids such as foot sweat remain inside if the shoes, andincreasing humidity and body temperature may cause many bacteria tobreed and multiply inside the shoes and generate odor.

In addition, dirt, dust, and various foreign substances may smear thebottoms or outer surfaces of shoes. Such foreign substances increaseaging of the shoes and cause a messy appearance. Generally, dirt orforeign matter of a relatively large particle size attaches to thebottom of the shoes, while moisture, fine dirt, or dust attaches to anexterior surface of the shoes.

While many devices for shoe management have been developed, but therelated art does not simultaneously remove dirt, dust, foreign matter,bacteria, odor, and moisture. For example, Korean Patent Application No.10-2012-0122910 discloses a device capable of removing moisture and odorin shoes, but the device cannot remove dust on the exterior of theshoes.

Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0393879 discloses insertmembers inserted into shoes for hygiene management and that have adehumidifying function, an antibacterial function, a deodorizingfunction, and a fragrance diffusion function, but the disclosed insertmembers do not have the function of removing dust on the exteriors ofthe shoes. The same problem remains even in Korean Utility ModelRegistration No. 20-0283178 and Korean Utility Model ApplicationPublication No. 20-2009-0001858.

A device proposed in Korean Patent Application Publication No.10-2008-0055288 has a sterilization function using a photocatalyst and adrying function using a heater. However, the device cannot remove duston the exteriors of the shoes, and is not suitable for home use due tothe large size thereof.

The above references are incorporated by reference herein whereappropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternativedetails, features and/or technical background.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the followingdrawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a shoemanagement device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating components of theshoe management device illustrated FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating the inside of the shoemanagement device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the inside of a housing of theshoe management device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an internal frame of the shoemanagement device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of agitatorsof the shoe management device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a careunit of the shoe management device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view illustrating an operation state of the shoemanagement device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view illustrating a configuration of a shoemanagement device according to a another embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating the operation state of the shoemanagement device illustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view illustrating a configuration of a shoemanagement device according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view illustrating the operation state of the shoemanagement device illustrated in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view illustrating a configuration of a shoemanagement device according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view illustrating the operation state of the shoemanagement device illustrated in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view illustrating a configuration of a shoemanagement device according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 16 a sectional view illustrating the operation state of the shoemanagement device illustrated in FIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the drawings, the embodiments of a shoe management device or shoecare device of the present disclosure are illustrated. As illustrated inFIG. 1, a housing or case 10 may constitute an exterior appearance ofthe shoe management device according to a first exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The housing 10 may include a housing body 12,and a cover or lid 14 covering an open upper portion of the housing body12. In the embodiment, the housing body 12 may have a hexahedral shape,and may have an inner space 16 (FIG. 2) therein so that at least oneshoe is inserted thereinto. The inner space 16 may be opened and/orclosed by the cover 14. The cover 14 may have a hinge 14′ at an endportion thereof as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 and may open and/orclose the inner space 16 by being rotated relative to the hinge 14′.

The housing 10 may have a hexahedral shape as a whole, and a user maysit on the cover 14. Accordingly, the housing 10 may function as achair, bench, or storage ottoman. The user may take out managed shoesfrom the inner space 16, cover the cover 14, and may put the shoes on orget dressed while sitting on the cover 14. Although a hexahedral orcuboid shape is shown in the figures, a shape of the housing 10 is notlimited. The housing 10 may have any shape with a cover 14 having arelatively flat surface so as to support a sitting user. For example,the housing 10 may be cylindrical. The cover 14 may have an optionalcushion provided on a top surface to provide comfort. An body 12 andcover 12 may be designed with various materials, prints, images, etc. tohave various appearances (e.g., to resemble a Moroccan pouf, a woodenstool or footrest, or a sleek, modern bench). A length or width of thehousing 10 may be 420 mm (roughly 1.3 feet), but embodiments disclosedherein are not limited.

Legs 18 may be provided on a lower end portion or bottom of the housing10. The legs 18 may allow the cover 14 to have at least a predeterminedheight from a ground or floor surface on which the housing 10 isprovided. A length of each of the legs 18, along with a height of thebody 12, may be preset or predetermined such that the height of thecover 14 from the ground may be the height of a normal chair or stool(e.g., 16-23 inches). When a height of the housing 10 is relatively low,the legs 18 may be arranged beneath the housing 10 so that the housing10 may function as a chair. When the height of the housing 10 isrelatively high, the legs 18 may be made to have a relatively shortlength or may not be arranged beneath the housing 10 so that the housing10 may function as a chair.

A tray opening 20 may be formed in a lower portion of an outer surfaceof the housing 10. A tray 22 to collect foreign matter falling fromshoes inside of the housing 10 may be inserted into and withdrawn fromthe tray opening 20, similar to a drawer configuration. The tray 22 maybe provided at the bottom of the inner space 16 when inserted into thetray opening 20 and may be configured to occupy almost an entire bottomof the inner space 16. Foreign matter removed from the shoe by theoperation of agitators 32 (FIG. 2) described later may collect in thetray 22.

The legs 18 may hold the housing 10 above the ground, and the housing 10may have a light emitting device panel to project a light display on theground that shows time, operation status, etc. A side of the housing 10may have a user interface (e.g., buttons) to turn on the housing 10 andto control a management of the shoes inside.

Referring to FIGS. 1-2, an internal frame 24 may surround or extendalong an inner surface of the lower end of the inner space 16 of thehousing 10. When the housing 10 has a hexahedral or cuboid shape, theinternal frame 24 may be configured in a rectangular or square gridshape as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5. The internal frame 24 may have afirst end member or plate 26 and a second end member or plate 26′extending parallel to each other. Two side end members or plates 27 mayconnect the first end member 26 and the second end member 26′ to eachother to form the rectangular or square shape. The internal frame 24 maybe mounted in the housing 10 by surrounding the inner surface of thelower end of the inner space 16. Inner surfaces of side walls of thehousing 10 may contact outer side surfaces of the first and second endmembers 26 and 26′ and the side end members 27.

A dividing member or plate 28 may be provided to connect middle orcentral portions of the first end member 26 and the second end member26′ to each other. A right shoe and a left shoe may be located atopposite sides (e.g., a right side and a left side, respectively) of thedividing member 28 relative thereto. Multiple curved grooves 27′ may beformed in the lower ends of the side end members 27 to prevent or reduceinterference of the side end members 27 with the agitators 32 and tofacilitate contact between the removal ribs 34 described later and thebottoms and outer surfaces of the shoes.

A support grid may be formed by multiple first support members orsupports 30 intersecting multiple second support members or supports 30′in the internal frame 24. The first support members 30 and the secondsupport members 30′ may be configured to be orthogonal to each other.Opposite ends of the first support member 30 may be coupled to the firstend member 26 and the second end member 26′, and opposite ends of thesecond support member 30′ may be coupled to the side end members 27. Thesecond support member 30′ may be provided by passing through thedividing member 28. A shoe may be supported by the first support member30 and the second support member 30′, and may not be directly supportedby the agitators 32 described below. Curved portions may be provided inthe first support member 30, and each of the curved portions may belocated in a gap between the agitators 32.

Multiple agitators 32 may be mounted in a space defined by the internalframe 24. Each of the agitators 32 may have a cylindrical shape, andmultiple removal ribs 34 may be provided around an outer circumferenceof the agitator. The removal ribs 34 may be made of elastic materialsand be provided at predetermined angular intervals on the outercircumference of the agitator 32. The removal ribs 34 may move whilebeing in close contact with a lower surface and outer surface of theshoe by the rotation of the agitator 32 and remove foreign matter on theshoe. As shown in the drawings, four removal ribs 34 may be provided oneach agitator 32, but a number of the removal ribs 34 is not limited andmay vary. Each of the removal ribs 34 may not be straight, but may becurved or inclined to more efficiently remove foreign matter on theshoe.

Embodiments disclosed herein are not limited to the agitators 32, whichare not required and may be omitted or turned off. For example, whenforeign matter on the lower surface and side surfaces of the shoe arenot required to be removed, the agitators 32 may not be used so as notto rotate.

The agitators 32 may extend parallel to the first end member 26 and thesecond end member 26′, and may be provided at opposite sides of thedividing member 28 relative thereto. Accordingly, multiple agitators 32may be arranged in two columns between the first end member 26 and thesecond end member 26′. The multiple agitators 32 may be connected to agear train, and may be driven by using power generated by one or twodriving sources. For convenience, configuration for the driving of theagitator 32 is not shown. The agitators 32 adjacent to each other in onecolumn may be rotated in directions opposite to each other. Accordingly,rotational forces of the agitators 32 may not be applied to a shoe onlyin one direction, so the shoe may be prevented from moving in onedirection inside the inner space 16. As an alternative, the agitators 32may vibrate to shake off foreign matter from the shoes.

A holding column 36 may be mounted to the internal frame 24 or the innersurface of the housing 10 at a rear. The height of the holding column 36may be adjusted inside the housing 10. The height of the holding column36 may be manually adjusted, or may be automatically adjusted by amotor. Configuration for the height adjustment of the holding column 36is not illustrated for convenience. A hook 38 may be provided on a frontend of the holding column 36. A care unit or assembly 40 may be hung onthe hook 38. The care unit 40 may comprise a shoe rack, shoe hanger, orshoe holder, which may be a shoe dryer that includes a blower, asterilizer, and/or a plasma ion generator. The care unit 40 may beremovable.

When viewed from the front, the care unit 40 may have a handle orprotrusion 43 protruding from a center or middle of a body part or frame41 toward the front. Extension parts or downward extensions 45 and 45′may be provided by extending downward at opposite ends of the body part41, and operation performance parts or heads 47 and 47′ may protrude atthe front ends of the extension parts 45 and 45′, respectively, in thesame direction as the protruding direction of the handle 43 (i.e.,forward). The operation performance parts 47 and 37′ may alternativelybe referred to as forward protrusions or forward extensions. Theoperation performance parts 47 and 47′ may perform various functions ofthe care unit 40, and may be configured to be inserted into shoes.

Referring to FIGS. 2-9, a sterilization emitter or sterilizer 48 may beprovided on each of the front ends of the operation performance parts 47and 47′. For example, the sterilization emitter 48 may include at leastone ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diode (LED). The sterilizationemitter 48 may emit ultraviolet light such as UV-C light (for example,light having a wavelength between 220 nm and 280 nm) intended orconfigured to kill or inactivate bacteria or other microorganisms. Thesterilization emitter 48 may prevent microorganisms from propagating ormultiplying by sterilization, and may also have an odor preventioneffect. The sterilization emitter 48 may kill or inactivate bacteriainside a shoe, and may be applied mainly to bacteria floating in spaceinside the shoe. Of course, the sterilization emitter 48 may also beapplied to bacteria on the inner surface of the shoe. There may also bean optional photocatalytic material or deodorizer (e.g., tin oxide)configured to deodorize the space when UV light is emitted toward theoptional photocatalytic material. In addition, there may be an optionalUV light provided at a rear of the housing 10, at a bottom of thehousing 10, in the agitators 32, and/or in a support 30 or 30′ thatsurrounds the agitators 32. Such optional UV light may be configured toturn on only when the cover 14 is closed.

Referring to FIGS. 2-4, a first discharge part 49 and a second dischargepart 49′ may be provided at an upper portion and the lower portion,respectively, of each of the operation performance parts 47 and 47′. Thefirst discharge part 49 and the second discharge part 49′ may dischargematter needed to manage or clean shoes. For example, hot air may bedischarged through the first discharge part 49, and plasma ions may bedischarged through the second discharge part 49′. The first dischargepart 49 may be referred to as a blower or heater, and the seconddischarge part 49′ may be referred to as a plasma ion emitter. The hotair discharged through the first discharge part 49 may perform a dryingfunction, and the plasma ions discharged through the second dischargepart 49′ may perform sterilization, disinfection, and deodorizationfunctions. For reference, the plasma ions may also kill or inactivatebacteria inside a shoe, and be applied mainly to bacteria attached tothe inner surface of the shoe. Of course, the plasma ions may also beapplied to bacteria floating in space inside the shoe.

Only hot air may be simultaneously discharged through the firstdischarge part 49 and the second discharge part 49′, or only plasma ionsmay be simultaneously discharged therethrough. As described above, thehot air may be discharged through the first discharge part 49, and theplasma ions may be discharged through the second discharge part 49′.

Here, the hot air and the plasma ions may be generated by the care unit40, or hot air or plasma ions generated by components or devices locatedinside a rear wall of the housing 10 may be transmitted to the care unit40 through a tube or pipe connected thereto, and may be dischargedthrough the first discharge part 49 and/or the second discharge part49′. The operation performance parts 47 and 47′ may protrude parallel toeach other, and be inserted into a pair of shoes to perform necessaryfunctions.

For example, an inside of the operation performance parts 47 and 47′ mayinclude a heater and fan or blower to blow hot air out of the firstand/or second discharge parts 49 and/or 49′, and a plasma ion generatorto emit plasma ions out of the first and/or second discharge parts 49and/or 49′. An inside of the operation performance parts 47 and 47′ mayform a channel to guide the hot air and/or the plasma ions out of thefirst and second discharge parts 49 and 49′. As another example, thewall of the housing 10 may have an inner wall and an outer wall with ahollow space therebetween, and an inside of the wall of the housing 10may include a heater and plasma ion generator, and a channel may beprovided to guide ions from the plasma ion generator to the first and/orsecond discharge parts 49 and/or 49′. In such an example, a fan to blowhot air may be provided in the wall of the housing or inside of theoperation performance parts 47 and/or 47′. An optional filter may beprovided in the operation performance parts 47 and/or 47′ to filter thehot air blown to heat and dry the shoes. Ends of the operationperformance parts 47 and 47′ may have optional sensors to sensehumidity, temperature, smell, and odors, and an operation of theoperation performance parts 47 and 47′ may be automatically performedbased on detections by the sensors.

An air flow generation part or assembly 50 may be provided inside thehousing 10. The air flow generation part 50 may generate and/or allowair to flow in the inner space 16 and/or aim or blow air toward theshoes. The air flow generated by the air flow generation part 50 mayremove relatively fine foreign matters such as dust on the outer surfaceof a shoe. Furthermore, the air flow generation part 50 may function tocirculate the hot air having moisture discharged from the care unit 40.

The air flow generation part 50 may be mounted to the lower surface ofthe cover 14. A dividing cover 51 may form an appearance of the air flowgeneration part 50. The dividing cover 51 may cover componentsconstituting the air flow generation part 50 so that the components maynot be exposed. The dividing cover 51 may define a predetermined spacein cooperation with the lower surface of the cover 14. A discharge orguide surface 51′ may be provided on an outer surface of the dividingcover 51. The discharge surface 51′ may be configured to incline towarda shoe in the inner space 16.

A fan motor 52 may be mounted in the predetermined space defined by thedividing cover 51 at a position adjacent to an introduction hole or airinlet 58 described below. The fan motor 52 may be mounted at a positionadjacent to a wall constituting the inner surface of the housing 10. Thefan motor 52 may rotate a fan or an impeller (e.g., a box fan)configured to suction ambient air and exhaust or blow the air to theinner space 16. The fan motor 52 and fan may be a relatively small orcompact-sized fan, such as a compact high speed fan similar to thecompact high speed axial fan used in some Dyson hairdryers.

The position of the fan motor 52 may be adjacent to the position of theintroduction hole 5. The fan motor 52 may be provided at an inner wallof the housing 10 or between an inner wall and an outer wall of thehousing 10. The fan motor 52 may alternatively be provided in a morecentral location inside the housing 10 or under the cover 14. An airguide duct 54 guiding an air flow may be provided in the space definedby the dividing cover 51 at a position between the fan motor 52 anddischarge nozzles 56 located on the discharge surface 51′. The air guideduct 54 may have air inlet holes that are configured to align with or beprovided close to the introduction hole 58 in the housing 10. Anoptional filter may be provided at an inner side or outer side of theair inlet holes. The air guide duct 54 may have a flow sectional areathat gradually becomes larger in a direction toward the dischargesurface 51′ from the fan motor 52.

Two fan motors 52 and two air guide ducts 54 may be provided to provideair separately to the right shoe and the left shoe. Accordingly, whenonly one shoe of a pair of shoes is required to be managed, for example,when only a right shoe is required to be managed, only one fan motor 52(e.g., a right fan motor 52) corresponding thereto may be driven tomanage the shoe.

The discharge nozzles 56 may be provided on the discharge surface 51′ ofthe dividing cover 51. The discharge nozzles 56 may be providedlongitudinally in straight lines along the discharge surface 51′ suchthat multiple nozzle holes (not shown) may be formed in the area of astraight line of each of the discharge nozzles 56. Two discharge nozzles56 may be provided in straight lines to correspond to the right shoe andthe left shoe. A diameter of each of the nozzle holes formed in thedischarge nozzle 56 may be configured to be larger as a distance betweenthe nozzle hole and the fan motor 52 increases to uniformly dischargeair in the entire area of the discharge nozzle 56. Alternatively, adiameter of the nozzle holes may decrease as a distance between thenozzle hole and the fan motor 52 increases.

As another alternative, the discharge nozzles 56 may be formed of onelong slit, as opposed to multiple nozzle holes, and a size or width ofthe slit may change based on a distance from the fan motor 52. Thedischarge nozzles 56 may be inclined or aimed at the shoes, mayoptionally move back and forth, or may have optional louvers to director control a flow of air. The discharge nozzles 56 may blow air towardthe shoes to dust the shoes.

The introduction hole 58 may be formed through an outer surface or wallof the housing 10. The introduction hole 58 may be a flow path throughwhich air flows to the fan motor 52 in the space defined by the dividingcover 51. The air may flow to the fan motor 52 through the flow pathlocated in the wall in which the introduction hole 58 is formed. Aninlet filter 59 may be provided at the entrance of the fan motor 52inside of the wall so that when external air flows in, foreign mattersuch as dust are prevented from entering. The inlet filter 59 may be apre filter capable of filtering dust.

A discharge opening or air outlet 60 may be formed through the wall ofthe housing 10. The discharge opening 60 may communicate with the innerspace 16 and be a portion through which air flowing through the innerspace 16 is discharged to the outside of the inner space 16. A separatedischarge fan 62 and motor may be provided in the discharge opening 60,but such discharge fan 62 may be optional. The discharge fan 62 mayrapidly discharge or exhaust the air in the inner space 16 to theoutside. When the discharge fan 62 is used, the air of the inner space16 can be efficiently discharged to the outside. For reference, as longas air can efficiently flow through the discharge opening 60 evenwithout the discharge fan 62 depending on design conditions of the shoemanagement device, the discharge fan 62 may not be used.

An outlet filter 64 may be provided in the discharge opening 60. Theoutlet filter 64 may remove the dust or foreign matter of the airdischarged from the inner space 16 to the outside to prevent the dust orforeign matter removed from a shoe from being transmitted to an indoorspace located at the outside of the housing 10 when the shoe managementdevice of the present disclosure is used indoors. The outlet filter 64may have a pre filter may be used to filter dust or foreign matter and aHEPA (High-efficiency particulate air) filter used together with the prefilter to remove odor. The outlet filter 64 may have an optionaldeodorizer.

A fragrance or aroma sheet 66 may be provided together with the outletfilter 64. The fragrance sheet 66 may provide fragrance to airdischarged through the discharge opening 60. When the fragrance sheet 66is mounted in the discharge opening 60, a desired fragrance may betransmitted to the indoor space of the outside of the housing 10.

In addition, a component or moisture absorbent (e.g., silica) may beprovided in the inner space 16 of the housing 10 to absorb moisture.Although not shown, a moisture absorbent may be provided at a side ofthe tray 22, and may remove moisture existing in the inner space 16. Themoisture absorbent absorbing at least a predetermined amount of moisturemay be replaced by taking out the tray 22 to the outside of the housing10.

Referring to FIG. 9, a second embodiment of the present disclosure isillustrated. The components of a shoe management device according to theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 9 will be described by assigningreference numerals between 100 and 200 to the components correspondingto the components of the device according to the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 9-10, air flowing through an inner space 116 of ahousing body 112 may not be discharged to the outside of a housing 110,but flow through the flow path formed in the wall of the housing 110back to an air flow generation part 150. Accordingly, there may be noseparate discharge opening (which would be analogous to the dischargeopening 60 open toward the outer surface of the housing in the firstembodiment) in the housing 110. Of course, with the discharge opening 60provided, a separate door may be provided in the inside or outside ofthe discharge opening 60, and the discharge opening 60 may be openedand/or closed as required.

A fan motor 152 of the air flow generation part 150 may be mounted at aposition adjacent to an introduction hole 158, and air flow generated bythe fan motor 152 may be guided along an air guide duct 154 and bedischarged to the inner space 116 of the housing 110 through a dischargenozzle 156 formed on a dividing cover 151.

A circulation fan 162 may be used so that the air flowing through theinner space 116 flows to the air flow generation part 150 and againflows through the inner space 116, but such circulation fan 162 may beoptional. The circulation fan 162 may be mounted in the flow pathlocated in the wall in which the introduction hole 158 is formed, andguide air to the air flow generation part 150. A circulation filter 164may be provided at the entrance of the circulation fan 162, and filterdust and/or odor generated in the inner space 116. As the circulationfilter 164, a pre filter and/or a HEPA (High-efficiency particulate air)filter may be used. For reference, as long as an air flow is efficientlyperformed even without the circulation fan 162, the circulation fan 162may not be used.

A tray 122 for foreign matter may be provided at the lower portion ofthe inner space 116, agitators 132 may be provided on the tray 122, anda care unit 140 inserted into the inside of a shoe may be located in theinner space 116. Reference numeral 118 refers to legs.

In FIG. 11, a third embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.The components of the device according to the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 11 will be described by assigning reference numerals between 200and 300 to the components corresponding to the components of the deviceaccording to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS.11-12, an introduction hole 258 through which air of the outside isintroduced to an inner space 216 may be formed in an outer surface of ahousing body 212, and a discharge opening 260 through which the airflowing through the inner space 216 is discharged to the outside mayalso be formed in an outer surface of the housing body 212.

An air flow generation part 250 may be provided for the air flow in ahousing 210, and a fan motor 252 of the air flow generation part 250 maybe located at an inner portion of the air flow generation part 250located at a position relatively far from the introduction hole 258. Anair flow generated by the fan motor 252 may be guided along an air guideduct 254, and lead to a discharge nozzle 256 located on a dividing cover251.

In the embodiment, the fan motor 252 may be provided on the dividingcover 251 at a position adjacent to the discharge nozzle 256. An inletfilter 259 may be provided inside the wall of the housing 210, and airflowing through the air introduction hole 259 may flow through the inletfilter 259 before being suctioned by the fan motor 252. The air guideduct 254 guiding air to the discharge nozzle 256 located on the dividingcover 251 may extend longitudinally in a straight line to correspond tothe discharge nozzle 256 formed longitudinally in a straight line. Thediameter of each of nozzle holes formed in the discharge nozzle 256 maybe configured to be larger as a distance between the nozzle hole and thefan motor 252 increases.

A discharge fan 262 may be provided in the discharge opening 260 formedto be open in an outer surface of the housing body 212. The dischargefan 262 may discharge the air of the inner space 216 to the outside. Forreference, the discharge fan 262 may not be used depending on designconditions of the shoe management device. An outlet filter 264 may beprovided at a position adjacent to the discharge fan 262. As the outletfilter 264, a pre filter filtering dust and foreign matter and/or a HEPA(High-efficiency particulate air) filter removing odor may be used. Afragrance sheet 266 may also be provided at a position adjacent to thedischarge opening 260. The fragrance sheet 266 allows fragrance to bemixed with air discharged through the discharge opening 260.

The tray 222 may be provided at the lower portion of the inner space216, agitators 232 may be provided on the tray 222 for foreign matter,and a care unit 240 inserted into a shoe may be located in the innerspace 216. Reference numeral 218 refers to legs.

In FIG. 13, a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure isillustrated. In the embodiment, the components of a shoe managementdevice according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13 will bedescribed by assigning reference numerals between 300 and 400 to thecomponents corresponding to the components of the device according tothe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 13-14, anintroduction hole 358 through which air of the outside is introduced toan inner space 316 may be provided at an outer surface of a housing body312. The air flowing through the inner space 316 may be transmitted toan air flow generation part 350, and recirculate through the inner space316.

The air flow generation part 350 may be provided for the air flow in thehousing 310, and a fan motor 352 of the air flow generation part 350 maybe located at an inner portion of the air flow generation part 350relatively far away from the introduction hole 358, similar to theembodiment of FIGS. 11-12. The air flow generated by the fan motor 352may be guided along an air guide duct 354, and lead to a dischargenozzle 356 on a dividing cover 351. In the embodiment, the fan motor 352may be provided on the dividing cover 351 located at a position adjacentto the discharge nozzle 356. The air guide duct 354 guiding air to thedischarge nozzle 356 located on the dividing cover 351 may extendlongitudinally in one direction to correspond to the discharge nozzle356 formed longitudinally in a straight line. The diameter of each ofnozzle holes formed in the discharge nozzle 356 may be configured to belarger as a distance between the nozzle hole and the fan motor 352increases. An inlet filter 359 may be provided at the inner surface ofwall of the housing 310.

A circulation fan 362 may be provided so that the air flowing throughthe inner space 316 is transmitted to the air flow generation part 350and again flows through the inner space 316. The circulation fan 362 maybe provided in the flow path formed in the wall in which theintroduction hole 358 is formed and flow air to the air flow generationpart 350. If air circulation is efficiently performed even without thecirculation fan 362, the circulation fan 362 may not be used.

The circulation filter 364 may be provided at the entrance of thecirculation fan 362 and filter dust generated in the inner space 316. Asthe circulation filter 364, a pre filter and/or a HEPA (High-efficiencyparticulate air) filter may be used.

A tray 322 for foreign matter may be provided at the lower portion ofthe inner space 316, agitators 332 may be provided on the tray 322, anda care unit 340 inserted into a shoe may be located in the inner space316. Reference numeral 318 refers to legs.

In FIG. 15, a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.In the embodiment, the components of a shoe management device accordingto the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 15 will be described by assigningreference numerals between 400 and 500 to the components correspondingto the components of the device according to the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 15-16, an introduction hole 458 throughwhich air of the outside is introduced to an inner space 416 may beformed in an outer surface of a housing body 412, and a dischargeopening 460 through which the air flowing through the inner space 416 isdischarged to the outside may also be formed in an outer surface of thehousing body 412.

In the embodiment, an air flow generation part 450 may be provided forthe air flow inside the housing 410, and a discharge surface 451′ of adividing cover 451 of the appearance of the air flow generation part 450may directly face agitators 432 located under the discharge surface451′. That is, the discharge surface 451′ may not be inclined as in theprevious embodiments, but be parallel to the bottom surface of thehousing 410. Accordingly, air discharged through a discharge nozzle 456of the discharge surface 451′ may flow directly downward toward a shoewithout inclining toward the shoe.

In the embodiment, a fan motor 452 of the air flow generation part 450may be located at an inner portion of the air flow generation part 450relatively far from the introduction hole 458, but the fan motor 452 mayalternatively be located at a position adjacent to the introduction hole458 closer to an inlet filter 459.

In the embodiment, a discharge fan 462 may be provided in the dischargeopening 460 formed to be open in an outer surface of the housing body412. The discharge fan 462 may discharge the air of the inner space 416to the outside. For reference, as long as the air flow through thedischarge opening 460 is performed even without the discharge fan 462,the discharge fan 462 may not be used.

An outlet filter 464 may be provided at a position adjacent to thedischarge fan 462. As the outlet filter 464, a pre filter filtering dustand foreign matter and/or HEPA (High-efficiency particulate air) filterremoving odor may be used. A fragrance sheet 466 may also be provided ata position adjacent to the discharge opening 460. The fragrance sheet466 may allow fragrance to be mixed with the air discharged through thedischarge opening 460.

As an alternative, the discharge opening 460 may be omitted orconfigured to be closed, and the discharge fan 462 may be a circulationfan so that air circulating in the inner space 416 may be transmitted tothe air flow generation part 450 and recirculate through the inner space416.

Hereinafter, the operation of the shoe management device having theconfiguration described above according the embodiments of the presentdisclosure will be described in detail.

First, the operation of the shoe management device illustrated in FIG. 1with reference to FIG. 8 will be described.

A user opens the cover 14, and inserts shoes into the inner space 16 tobe provided on the first support member 30 and the second support member30′ of the internal frame 24. The operation performance parts 47 and 47′of the care unit 40 may be inserted into the right shoe and the leftshoe located in the inner space 16, respectively. An installation ormounting position of the care unit 40 may be changed by adjusting theheight of the holding column 36 according to the height of each of theshoes. Accordingly, the operation performance parts 47 and 47′ of thecare unit 40 may be accurately and/or conveniently located inside theshoes.

In such a state, when the cover 14 is closed, the inner space 16 may beisolated from the outside, and the discharge surface 51′, which is asurface of the dividing cover 51 of the air flow generation part 50, mayface the upper portion of the shoe as illustrated in FIG. 8.Accordingly, the discharge nozzles 56 located on the discharge surface51′ may be located at positions corresponding to the left shoe and theright shoe. For reference, when the cover 14 is closed, the closing ofthe cover 14 may be detected, and the operation of the shoe managementdevice may be performed.

The operation of the shoe management device may be divided into threemajor operations. There are the operations of the agitators 32, the careunit 40, and the air flow generation part 50. First, as for theoperation of the agitators 32, due to the rotations of the agitators 32,the removal ribs 34 may scrape or brush the lower surface of a shoe, andremove foreign matter such as dirt or dust. The agitators 32 adjacent toeach other may remove foreign matter on the lower surface of the shoewhile rotating in directions opposite to each other to prevent or reduceforward and backward movement of the shoe. The care unit 40 may restrictupward movement of the shoe toward the upper portion of the inner space16. Accordingly, while the shoe may be located on the internal frame 24,foreign matter on the lower surface of the shoe may be efficientlyremoved.

While the agitators 32 operate, foreign matter removed from a shoe mayfall by weight and be transmitted onto the tray 22. Much foreign mattermay fall on the tray 22. After being used for a predetermined time, thetray 22 may be taken out to the outside of the housing 10 so that theforeign matter is removed and discarded therefrom, and may be insertedback into the inner space 16 through the tray opening 20.

In addition, foreign matter or dirt on the lower end portions of sidesurfaces of the shoe as well as on the lower surface of the shoe may beremoved by the operations of the agitators 32. This is because each ofthe removal ribs 34 is made of an elastic material and an end portion ofa side of the removal rib 34 can reach a lower end portion of a sidesurface of the shoe. Alternatively or in addition thereto, the removalribs 32 may be or include bristles to brush dirt from crevices formed ina bottom of the shoe. For example, some of the removal ribs 34 may beelastic or deformable blades, and other removal ribs 34 may be a set ofbristles. The removal ribs 34 may have a predetermined inclination orcurvature, and be formed with indentations or grooves configured toreceive the first and/or second supporting members 30 and 30′ so that atleast a portion of the removal ribs 34 protrude upward to contact abottom of the shoes.

Second, the moisture of the inside of the shoe may be removed, and/orsterilization and deodorization may be performed by the operation of thecare unit 40. When hot air is discharged through the first dischargepart 49 with the operation performance part 47 of the care unit 40located inside the shoe, the hot air may be transmitted to the inside ofthe shoe and dry the inside thereof. The hot air having moisture thereinmay flow to the inner space 16 outside of the shoe, and flow thereintogether with the air flow generated by the air flow generation part 150in the inner space 16.

The sterilization emitter 48 of the care unit 40 may performsterilization inside the shoe. The sterilization emitter 48 may make theinside of the shoe more hygienic by killing germs such as bacterialiving inside the shoe, or by reducing the activity thereof. Thesterilization emitter 48 may be located at the front end of theoperation performance part 47, and enter deeper inside the shoe, wherebysterilization and deodorization may be performed up to the front end ofthe inside of the shoe. The sterilization emitter 48 may be used mainlyto remove bacteria floating in the inner space of the shoe.

Next, plasma ions may be discharged through the second discharge part49′ located in the operation performance part 47 of the care unit 40,whereby sterilization and deodorization of the inside of the shoe may beperformed. Particularly, the plasma ions may flow up to a position wherethe sterilization emitter 48 may not reach, and sterilize and deodorizeevery corner of the inside of the shoe. For reference, the plasma ionsmay be used mainly to remove bacteria attached to the inner surface ofthe shoe.

In addition, the hot air and the plasma ions have been described to bedischarged through the first discharge part 49 and the second dischargepart 49′, respectively, but the hot air may be discharged simultaneouslythrough the first discharge part 49 and the second discharge part 49′,and later the plasma ions may be discharged simultaneously through thefirst discharge part 49 and the second discharge part 49′.

Third, due to the operation of the air flow generation part 50, foreignmatter such as dust on the surface of a shoe may be removed. The foreignmatter such as dust removed by the air flow generation part 50 may befiner than foreign matter removed by the agitators 32. The flow of airmay be generated by the fan motor 52 of the air flow generation part 50,and the air may be discharged through the discharge nozzle 56 and hitthe outer surface of a shoe. Relatively large foreign matter may beremoved from and fall from the shoe and be transmitted to the tray 22 bythe agitators 32, whereas fine dust which can flow along with the airflow may be removed by the air flow generated by the air flow generationpart 50.

The air discharged to the shoe through the discharge nozzle 56 may bedischarged through the discharge opening 60 to the outside of thehousing 10 as illustrated with arrows in FIG. 8. In this case, while theair passes through the outlet filter 64, foreign matter contained in theair may be removed, and odor may also be removed. With fragrance mixedwith the air by the fragrance sheet 66 while the air passes through thedischarge opening 60, the air may be discharged through the dischargeopening 60 by the discharge fan 62.

In addition, when a moisture absorbent is arranged at a side inside thehousing 10, moisture in the shoe may be absorbed and removed by themoisture absorbent. Accordingly, the moisture may not be transmitted tothe outside through the discharge opening 60, whereby the environment ofspace in which the device of the present disclosure is located may bemaintained pleasant.

Here, the air flow generated by the fan motor 52 of the air flowgeneration part 50 will be described briefly. When the fan motor 52 isoperated, the air of the outside may be introduced to the inner spacethrough the introduction hole 58. When the air flows to the fan motor52, the air may pass through the inlet filter 59, and foreign matter ofthe air may be removed from the air. The air flow generated by the fanmotor 52 may be guided along the air guide duct 54, and be dischargedthrough the discharge nozzle 56. The diameter of each of the nozzleholes of the discharge nozzle 56 may be preset or predetermined inconsideration of the distance between the nozzle hole and the fan motor52 such that the air may be almost uniformly discharged in the entirearea of the discharge nozzle 56.

Accordingly, in the present disclosure, foreign matter such as dust maybe removed, and dehumidification, deodorization, and sterilization maybe performed by the operations of the agitator 32, the care unit 40, andthe air flow generation part 50 inside the inner space 16 of the housing10, whereby a shoe can be more hygienically managed.

Next, the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9 will be described withreference to FIG. 10.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, the operations of the agitators132 and the care unit 140 are the same as the operations of theagitators 32 and the care unit 40 in the embodiment of FIG. 8, so theair flow generated by the air flow generation part 150 will be describedbelow.

The air flow generated by the fan motor 152 of the air flow generationpart 150 may be guided by the air guide duct 154 and be transmitted tothe discharge nozzle 156. The air discharged from the discharge nozzle156 may be transmitted to the surface of a shoe in the inner space 116,and carry dust on the surface of the shoe and absorb moisture thereon tocirculate together therewith. The air flow may not be transmitted fromthe inner space 116 to the outside, and may be transmitted back to thefan motor 152 by the circulation fan 162 located in the flow path formedin the wall of the housing 110 as illustrated in FIG. 10. In this case,foreign matter and/or odor in the air may be removed by the circulationfilter 164.

In addition, when the air flows to the fan motor 152, foreign matter maybe removed again by an inlet filter 159. The air passing through theinlet filter 159 may include external air introduced through theintroduction hole 158 as well as air circulating in the inner space 116.The air may be purified or filtered while passing through the inletfilter 159, may be suctioned or pulled by the fan motor 152, may beguided along the air guide duct 154, and may be discharged to the innerspace 116 through the discharge nozzle 156, whereby as described above,moisture and foreign matters of the surface of a shoe may be removed.

Next, the operation of the shoe management device according to theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 11 will be described with reference toFIG. 12. Here, the operations of the agitators 232 and the care unit 240are the same as the operations of the agitators 32 and the care unit 40of the embodiment of FIG. 8, so the description thereof will be omittedfor convenience.

In the embodiment, due to the operation of the air flow generation part250, foreign matter such as dust and dirt on the surface of a shoe maybe removed. The foreign matter removed by the air flow generation part250 may be finer than foreign matter removed by the agitators 232. Here,the air flow may be generated by the fan motor 252, and the air may bedischarged through the discharge nozzle 56 and hit the outer surface ofa shoe. Due to such action, relatively large foreign matters may beremoved from and fall from the shoe and be transmitted onto the tray 222by the agitators 232, whereas fine dust which may flow along with theair flow may be removed by the air flow generated by the air flowgeneration part 250.

The air discharged to the shoe through the discharge nozzle 256 may bedischarged through the discharge opening 260 to the outside of thehousing 210 as illustrated with arrows in FIG. 12. In this case, whilethe air passes through the outlet filter 264, foreign matter containedin the air may be removed, and odor may also be removed. With fragrancemixed with the air by the fragrance sheet 266 while the air passesthrough the discharge opening 260, the air may be discharged through thedischarge opening 260 by the discharge fan 262.

Although the air of the inner space 216 may be discharged to the outsideof the housing 210, the discharged or exhausted air may not includemoisture, dust, and odor. Fragrance provided by the fragrance sheet 266may be transmitted to the indoor space, and the indoor space can bemaintained pleasant.

Next, the operation of the shoe management device according to theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 13 will be described with reference toFIG. 14.

In the embodiment, the operations of the agitators 332 and the care unit340 are the same as the operations of the agitators 32 and the care unit40 of the embodiment of FIG. 8, so the description thereof will beomitted for convenience.

An air flow generated by the fan motor 352 of the air flow generationpart 350 may be guided by the air guide duct 354 and be transmitted tothe discharge nozzle 356. The air discharged through the dischargenozzle 356 may be transmitted to the surface of the shoe in the innerspace 316, carry dust on the surface of the shoe, and absorb moisturethereon to circulate together therewith. The air flow may not betransmitted from the inner space 316 to the outside, and instead betransmitted back to the fan motor 352 by the circulation fan 362 locatedin the flow path formed in the wall of the housing 310 as illustrated inFIG. 14. In this case, foreign matter and/or odor in the air may beremoved by the circulation filter 364.

In addition, when the air flows to the fan motor 352, foreign mattersmay be removed again by an inlet filter 359. The air passing through theinlet filter 359 may include external air introduced through theintroduction hole 358 as well as air circulating in the inner space 316.The air may be purified or filtered while passing through the inletfilter 359, may be pulled or suctioned by the fan motor 352, may beguided along the air guide duct 354, and may be discharged to the innerspace 316 through the discharge nozzle 356, whereby as described above,moisture and foreign matter of the surface of a shoe may be removed.

Next, the operation of the shoe management device according to theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 15 will be described with reference toFIG. 16. In the embodiment, the discharge surface 451′ of the dividingcover 451 may be configured to have no inclination and be parallel tothe agitators 432 on the bottom of the housing 410. Accordingly, airdischarged through the discharge nozzle 456 located on the dischargesurface 451′ may flow vertically downward in the inner space 416, andremove dust and foreign matter on the surface of a shoe. Large foreignmatter may fall on a tray 422, whereas, due to the operation of thedischarge fan 462, fine foreign matter may flow out of the inner space416 together with the air.

In this process, the outlet filter 464 may filter the foreign matter inthe air before the air flows to the outside of the housing 410, and whenthe fragrance sheet 466 is used, air mixed with fragrance may betransmitted to the indoor space.

This application is related to co-pending U.S. application Ser. No.______ (Attorney Docket No. NIP-0031) filed on ______, the entirecontents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

Embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as a shoe management orcare device comprising a housing having an inner space configured toreceive at least one shoe and an inlet, a nozzle provided inside of thehousing, an inlet impeller configured to suction air through the inletand to discharge air into the inner space toward the shoe via thenozzle, and a shoe holder coupled to an inner surface of the housing andhaving a sterilizer. The shoe holder may be configured to be insertedinto the shoe, and the sterilizer may be configured to sterilize aninside of the shoe.

The housing may have an inner wall and an outer wall provided outside ofthe inner wall, the inner wall defining the inner space. The inletimpeller may be provided inside of the housing at the inner wall. Theinlet may be formed through the outer wall of the housing. The nozzlemay be coupled to an inclined surface provided in the inner space thatmay be inclined toward the shoe.

The housing may be configured to receive a pair of shoes. The inletimpeller may be provided at a front of the housing. The shoe holder maybe provided at a rear of the housing. The nozzle may have a plurality offirst nozzle holes arranged linearly from the front to the rear andprovided above the first of the pair, and a plurality of second nozzleholes arranged linearly from the front to the rear and provided abovethe second of the pair. A diameter of each of the first and secondnozzle holes may increase from the front to the rear.

A discharge opening, an outlet filter, and a fragrance sheet may beprovided. The discharge opening may be formed through the inner andouter walls of the housing and configured to discharge air in the innerspace to an outside of the housing. The outlet filter and the fragrancesheet may be provided at an entrance of the discharge opening. Adischarge fan may be provided at the discharge opening and configured toexhaust the air of the inner space through the discharge opening to theoutside of the housing.

A flow path may be formed between the inner and outer walls of thehousing and an outlet filter may be provided in the flow path. The airinside of the inner space may be configured to flow through the flowpath toward the inlet impeller. A circulation fan may be provided at theinner wall to move air into the flow path and toward the inlet impeller.

A plurality of agitators may be provided at a bottom of the inner spaceand configured to remove foreign matter from a bottom of the shoe byrotating. A plurality of ribs may be provided at predetermined angularintervals on an outer circumference of each agitator. The plurality ofribs may be made of an elastic material and may be at least one ofelastic blades or elastic bristles.

The housing may comprise a housing body having the inner space thereinand a lid hinged to the housing body to cover an upper opening throughwhich the shoe may be inserted. The lid may have an air guide ductconfigured to receive air from the inlet impeller. The lid may includethe nozzle.

Embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as a shoe managementdevice comprising a housing having an inner space configured to receiveat least one shoe and an inlet, an inlet impeller configured to suctionair through the inlet into the inner space of the housing via at leastone nozzle, the nozzle being inclined toward the shoe, and a pluralityof agitators provided at a bottom of the inner space and configured toremove foreign matter from an exterior surface of the shoe.

The at least one shoe may include a first shoe and a second shoe, andthe at least one nozzle may include a first nozzle aimed at the firstshoe and a second nozzle aimed at the second shoe. Each of the first andsecond nozzles may have a plurality of holes arranged in a straight lineand have an increasing diameter as a distance between the holes and theinlet impeller increases.

A discharge opening may be formed through a wall of the housing. Air ofthe inner space may be discharged through the discharge opening. Anoutlet filter and a fragrance sheet may be provided. The outlet filterand the fragrance sheet may be provided at an entrance of the dischargeopening. A discharge fan may be provided at the discharge opening andconfigured to move air inside of the inner space through the dischargeopening.

The housing may include an inner wall, an outer wall, and a flow pathprovided between the inner and outer walls through which air in theinner space of the housing may be guided toward the inlet fan. An outletfilter may be provided in the flow path.

A circulation fan may be provided at the flow path and configured tomove air inside the inner space through the flow path. A sterilizer maybe configured to be inserted into the shoe. The sterilizer may beconfigured to emit at least one of ultraviolet light or plasma ions toan inside of the shoe.

The housing may comprise a housing body having the inner space therein,and a lid hinged to the housing body to open or close the inner space.The housing and the lid may be configured to support a user sitting onthe lid when the lid may be closed.

Embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as a shoe managementdevice comprising a housing having an inner space configured to store ashoe, an inlet formed in a wall of the housing, an impeller configuredto suction air through the inlet, an air guide configured to guide airsuctioned by the impeller toward the shoe to remove foreign matter froman outside of the shoe, a shoe rack coupled to the housing andconfigured to be inserted into the shoe to sterilize an inside of theshoe, an agitator configured to remove foreign matter from the outsideof the shoe, and a tray provided at a bottom of the housing to collectforeign matter falling from the shoe and configured to be withdrawn fromthe housing for discarding the foreign matter.

Embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as a shoe managementdevice comprising a housing having an inner space configured to receivea shoe, an air generator configured to blow air toward the shoe via anozzle aimed at the shoe, a shoe hanger configured to be inserted intothe shoe and to sterilize and disinfect an inside of the shoe, and acirculation fan configured to guide air circulating in the inner spacetoward the air generator. The housing may include an inner wall definingthe inner space, an outer wall outside of the inner wall, and a flowpath formed between the inner wall and the outer wall. The flow path maybe configured to guide air from the circulation fan toward the airgenerator. A filter may be provided in the flow path to remove foreignmatter from the air flowing through the flow path.

In the above, although all components constituting the shoe managementdevice of the present disclosure are described as being coupled to eachother into one to be operated, the present disclosure is not necessarilylimited to these embodiments. That is, within the scope of the presentdisclosure, all of its components may operate by being selectivelycoupled to each other into at least one. In addition, the terms“include”, “constitute”, or “have” as described above mean that thecorresponding components may be included, unless otherwise stated, andit should be interpreted that other components may be further included,not excluded. All terms, including technical or scientific terms, havethe same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art towhich the present disclosure belongs, unless otherwise defined. Commonlyused terms, such as those defined in the dictionary, should beinterpreted as being consistent with the contextual meaning of therelated art, and should not be interpreted as an ideal or excessivelyformal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present disclosure.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea ofthe present disclosure, and those having ordinary skills in thetechnical field to which the present disclosure belongs can make variousmodifications and variations without departing from the essentialcharacteristics of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the embodimentsdisclosed in the present disclosure are not intended to limit thetechnical idea of the present disclosure, but to explain the technicalspirit, and the scope of the technical idea of the present disclosure isnot limited to these embodiments. The scope of protection of the presentdisclosure should be interpreted by the claims below, and all technicalideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as beingincluded in the scope of the present disclosure.

For reference, in the illustrated embodiments, the fan motor 52 may beprovided in the housing 10 to move air in the inner space 16 of thehousing 10. However, instead of the fan motor 52, the circulation fanmay be provided in the flow path located in the wall of the housing 10so as to allow the air flow to be performed in the entirety of the innerspace of the housing 10. This case may be applied to the configurationhaving no discharge opening among the various embodiments describedabove, and the air pressed or moved by the circulation fan may bedischarged through the discharge nozzle to the inner space 16 so thatair flowing through the inner space 16 recirculates in the inner space16.

It should be noted that in adding reference numerals to the componentsof each drawing, the same components have the same reference numeralswhen possible, even if they are displayed on different drawings. Inaddition, in describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, whenit is determined that a detailed description of a related knownconfiguration or function interferes with the understanding of thepresent disclosure, the detailed description is omitted.

In addition, in describing the components of the embodiments of thepresent disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, a, and b may beused. These terms are only for distinguishing the components from othercomponents, and the nature, order, or order of each of the components isnot limited to the terms. When a component is described as being“connected” or “coupled” to another component, that component may bedirectly connected to or coupled to the other component. However, itshould be understood that another component may be “connected” or“coupled” to each component therebetween.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “on” another element or layer, the element or layer can bedirectly on another element or layer or intervening elements or layers.In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on”another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layerspresent. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third,etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components,regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions,layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These termsare only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer orsection from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element,component, region, layer or section could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the present invention.

Spatially relative terms, such as “lower”, “upper” and the like, may beused herein for ease of description to describe the relationship of oneelement or feature to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated inthe figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms areintended to encompass different orientations of the device in use oroperation, in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. Forexample, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements describedas “lower” relative to other elements or features would then be oriented“upper” relative to the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplaryterm “lower” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Thedevice may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used hereininterpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Embodiments of the disclosure are described herein with reference tocross-section illustrations that are schematic illustrations ofidealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the disclosure.As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result,for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to beexpected. Thus, embodiments of the disclosure should not be construed aslimited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but areto include deviations in shapes that result, for example, frommanufacturing.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances ofsuch phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection withany embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the purview of oneskilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristicin connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shoe management device comprising: a housinghaving an inner space configured to receive at least one shoe and aninlet; a nozzle provided inside of the housing; an inlet impellerconfigured to suction air through the inlet and to discharge air intothe inner space toward the shoe via the nozzle; and a shoe holdercoupled to an inner surface of the housing and having a sterilizer, theshoe holder being configured to be inserted into the shoe, and thesterilizer being configured to sterilize an inside of the shoe.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the housing has an inner wall and an outerwall provided outside of the inner wall, the inner wall defining theinner space, the inlet impeller is provided inside of the housing at theinner wall, the inlet is formed through the outer wall of the housing,and the nozzle is coupled to an inclined surface provided in the innerspace that is inclined toward the shoe.
 3. The device of claim 2,wherein the housing is configured to receive a pair of shoes, the inletimpeller is provided at a front of the housing, the shoe holder isprovided at a rear of the housing, and the nozzle has a plurality offirst nozzle holes arranged linearly from the front to the rear andprovided above the first of the pair, and a plurality of second nozzleholes arranged linearly from the front to the rear and provided abovethe second of the pair, a diameter of each of the first and secondnozzle holes increasing from the front to the rear.
 4. The device ofclaim 2, further comprising a discharge opening, an outlet filter, and afragrance sheet, the discharge opening being formed through the innerand outer walls of the housing and configured to discharge air in theinner space to an outside of the housing, wherein the outlet filter andthe fragrance sheet are provided at an entrance of the dischargeopening.
 5. The device of claim 4, further comprising a discharge fanprovided at the discharge opening and configured to exhaust the air ofthe inner space through the discharge opening to the outside of thehousing.
 6. The device of claim 2, further comprising a flow path formedbetween the inner and outer walls of the housing and an outlet filterprovided in the flow path, wherein the air inside of the inner space isconfigured to flow through the flow path toward the inlet impeller. 7.The device of claim 6, further comprising a circulation fan provided atthe inner wall to move air into the flow path and toward the inletimpeller.
 8. The device of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality ofagitators provided at a bottom of the inner space and configured toremove foreign matter from a bottom of the shoe by rotating; and aplurality of ribs provided at predetermined angular intervals on anouter circumference of each agitator, the plurality of ribs being madeof an elastic material and being at least one of elastic blades orelastic bristles.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the housingcomprises: a housing body having the inner space therein; and a lidhinged to the housing body to cover an upper opening through which theshoe is inserted, the lid having an air guide duct configured to receiveair from the inlet impeller, wherein the lid includes the nozzle.
 10. Ashoe management device comprising: a housing having an inner spaceconfigured to receive at least one shoe and an inlet; an inlet impellerconfigured to suction air through the inlet into the inner space of thehousing via at least one nozzle, the nozzle being inclined toward theshoe; and a plurality of agitators provided at a bottom of the innerspace and configured to remove foreign matter from an exterior surfaceof the shoe.
 11. The device of claim 10, wherein the at least one shoeincludes a first shoe and a second shoe, and the at least one nozzleincludes a first nozzle aimed at the first shoe and a second nozzleaimed at the second shoe, each of the first and second nozzles having aplurality of holes arranged in a straight line and having an increasingdiameter as a distance between the holes and the inlet impellerincreases.
 12. The device of claim 10, further comprising a dischargeopening formed through a wall of the housing through which air of theinner space is discharged, an outlet filter, and a fragrance sheet, theoutlet filter and the fragrance sheet being provided at an entrance ofthe discharge opening.
 13. The device of claim 12, further comprising adischarge fan provided at the discharge opening and configured to moveair inside of the inner space through the discharge opening.
 14. Thedevice of claim 10, wherein the housing includes an inner wall, an outerwall, and a flow path provided between the inner and outer walls throughwhich air in the inner space of the housing is guided toward the inletfan, and an outlet filter is provided in the flow path.
 15. The deviceof claim 14, further comprising a circulation fan at the flow path andconfigured to move air inside the inner space through the flow path. 16.The device of claim 10, further comprising a sterilizer configured to beinserted into the shoe, the sterilizer being configured to emit at leastone of ultraviolet light or plasma ions to an inside of the shoe. 17.The device of claim 10, wherein the housing comprises: a housing bodyhaving the inner space therein; and a lid hinged to the housing body toopen or close the inner space, the housing and the lid configured tosupport a user sitting on the lid when the lid is closed.
 18. A shoemanagement device comprising: a housing having an inner space configuredto store a shoe; an inlet formed in a wall of the housing; an impellerconfigured to suction air through the inlet; an air guide configured toguide air suctioned by the impeller toward the shoe to remove foreignmatter from an outside of the shoe; a shoe rack coupled to the housingand configured to be inserted into the shoe to sterilize an inside ofthe shoe; an agitator configured to remove foreign matter from theoutside of the shoe; and a tray provided at a bottom of the housing tocollect foreign matter falling from the shoe and configured to bewithdrawn from the housing for discarding the foreign matter.
 19. A shoemanagement device comprising: a housing having an inner space configuredto receive a shoe; an air generator configured to blow air toward theshoe via a nozzle aimed at the shoe; a shoe hanger configured to beinserted into the shoe and to sterilize and disinfect an inside of theshoe; and a circulation fan configured to guide air circulating in theinner space toward the air generator.
 20. The device of claim 19,wherein the housing includes an inner wall defining the inner space, anouter wall outside of the inner wall, and a flow path formed between theinner wall and the outer wall, wherein the flow path is configured toguide air from the circulation fan toward the air generator, and afilter is provided in the flow path to remove foreign matter from theair flowing through the flow path.